


It's Not Okay

by Fireagate



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Comfort fic, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26211676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireagate/pseuds/Fireagate
Summary: Mermista is depressed after the events of Mer-Mysteries. Sea Hawk offers what comfort he can.
Relationships: Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	It's Not Okay

**Author's Note:**

> Everything is depressing because 2020, so I have once again decided to write Seamista (but not my in-progress AU, because lol) rather than face work or any number of other things that need doing. This is probably what a therapist would diagnose as “depression” or “trauma” and I am going to diagnose as “a semi-healthy coping strategy.” Or possibly “a cry for himbos/help.”
> 
> If you too feel like a sarcastic, depressed princess facing the latest in a long series of disasters, this can double as a self-insert. You do you.
> 
> Set after Mer-Mysteries and prior to Boy’s Night Out. If it’s not perfectly canon compliant with those episodes, well, write your own coping-with-2020-via-SPOP fanfic.
> 
> Partially inspired by Bathtub Blues (What Can I Do For You?) by TelepathicTeaTime (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21491542), which you should go read.
> 
> The song is “Now and For Always,” modified of course to fit Etheria. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiuRXLo1MaM It's lovely and you should listen to it.

“GO AWAY.”

~“Mermista, my queen of the seaaa, I wish you would stop hiding from meee”~

“NOT HELPING.”

Outside the door, Sea Hawk grinned and gave the anxiously watching Bow and Adora a thumbs-up. “She’s responding to me!” he loudly whispered.

“Keep it up!” Bow “whispered” back.

“Why Glimmer!” Sea Hawk boomed. “How thoughtful of you to bring more mint chocolate chip ice cream! And what’s this? Sushi? With extra tuna and the tails cut off the shrimp? You are too kind, but Mermista will not open the door for any-“

“Give me that.”

The door clicked open and Mermista made a grab for the food – Sea Hawk wasn’t going to lie to his dearest about having her favorites ready – but Glimmer held it out of her reach and Sea Hawk wedged his foot in the door.

“Ah, my dear. How lovely to see you! Sadly, there is some concern about the state of your bathtub, so if you’ll just allow me to come in…” As he said that, he adroitly maneuvered himself into the room while Mermsita made a this-time-successful grab for the food. He just had time to witness a trio of worried-but-encouraging smiles before Mermista turned with her bounty and kicked the door shut behind her.

“Fine. You’re here. What do you want?”

Sea Hawk dropped the stage vocals now that he was on the right side of the door. “To see you, of course.”

“You’ve seen me. Leave.” Mermista headed for the bathtub, balancing the ice cream and the sushi tray on top of a side table that still held dirty dishes from the previous dinner.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She ignored him, sloshed back into the tub, and submerged herself.

“Ah, okay. I’ll just wait then,” Sea Hawk said the room. He looked around with a sad frown and started cleaning up, picking up discarded ice cream tubs and moving the soaked carpet away from the tub. Eventually he approached the bathtub again.

“Mermista, your ice cream is melting.”

She gave no sign of hearing him.

“Adora is modeling a new She-ra outfit. I think it makes her shoulders look even buffer than before.”

Nothing.

“Oh no, I seem to have dropped _The Theft of the Coral Reef_ in a puddle! It might be ruined.”

Not even a bubble.

Talking was apparently not going to work. But wait, she had to have been paying attention for him to get in the door in the first place…

_Oh, dearest. Do you already have what you want?_

He dipped a hand in the water. She immediately gripped it and didn’t let go.

 _Should have grabbed a chair first. Ah, well._ Anything for his love.

He sat beside the tub for some time, arm draped over the side, idly humming shanties and giving Mermista’s hand the occasional squeeze to remind her he was there. Eventually, his patience was rewarded and Mermista’s head appeared above the water.

“You’re still here?”

“I wouldn’t leave if 100, no, 500 men tried to tear me from your side.”

“Hmpf.” But she smiled ever so slightly, taking him in. “Your pants are soaked.” She glanced around. “You cleaned up. Shouldn’t have bothered. Everything is destroyed. No reason for this room to be any different.”

“Now, dearest…”

“ _Don’t_.”

“Don’t?”

“ _Don’t_ try and tell me it’s okay. That it will be okay. It isn’t and it won’t.”

“It’s not okay.”

“It… isn’t?”

“No. It’s not.”

And with that simple acknowledgement, Mermista suddenly seemed to crumple. “It isn’t. It really isn’t. Salineas…” Tears streamed down her face.

“I think it’s time we got you out of that tub.” Sea Hawk reached into the water and lifted her out. Any other time she’d have secretly admired his strength – it was usually her hauling him around on missions for _some_ reason, but that didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate a reversal - but Mermista was beyond anything but crying over the immense sadness of her kingdom’s loss and her own failure to prevent it.

Sea Hawk headed for the bed, then hesitated and detoured for the couch. “Mermista, I think you need to sleep, but your clothes are soaked. I’m going to help you out of them, okay?”

She didn’t say anything, just continued to sob in his arms. Sea Hawk considered. It wasn’t like he hadn’t undressed her before, but that had been under much happier circumstances and with her knowing consent. On the other hand, princess of the sea or not, he didn’t like the idea of her in wet clothes for any longer than necessary. He settled for continuing to hold her, then as her sobs became a little smaller fell back on his tried and true method for dealing with all things Mermista: music.

“Sing me a story of heroes of the sea, muddling through, brave and true…” he softly sang, swaying with her just the slightest to the beat. It wasn’t quite a shanty, but it was an old song they both loved. He’d sung it for her before, on one of their dates that _hadn’t_ ended with fire. It was a versatile tune that lent itself well to new lyrics, which he now freely inserted.

“Sing me a tale of the princess Mermista, fearless and bold-“

“Tired and cold.” He tried not to jump as she joined the song, just held her even closer.

"Sea Hawk at her side, surveying the vista."

“That’s a terrible rhyme,” she said into his shoulder.

“Shh,” he gently hushed her, then took up the tune again. "Together with friends they stand. Wouldn't retreat, stayed on their feet, now and for always.”

She hummed along as he sang the chorus.

_Sit by the firelight's glow  
Tell us an old tale we know  
Tell of adventures strange and rare  
Never to change  
Ever to share  
Stories we tell will cast their spell  
Now and for always_

“Think you can get out of those wet clothes now? You can always get back in the tub tomorrow.”

“I guess.”

“Good.” He gave her another hug. “Would you like help?”

“I’ll do it. But you need to get out of your wet clothes too.”

“Of course. Um…” He started to point out he hadn’t exactly brought a change of clothes in with him, and this wasn’t her room at Salineas where he kept a couple extra outfits in her closet, but thought better of it. Instead, he shucked off his clothing as quickly as he could and grabbed a towel for modesty’s sake before rummaging through the drawers for something else.

When Mermista came back into his view, he laughed. _One_ of them had found one of his shirts. “I don’t suppose you have any more of my clothing tucked away?”

Mermista took in the view before her with more appreciation than she’d had for, well, anything since she’d first seen the destruction at Salineas.

“Nope,” she lied. “You’ll have to keep the towel.”

He smiled. “If my princess insists.” She rolled her eyes. He smiled brighter.

She tugged him over to the bed. “I’m tired.”

They cuddled together under the covers, conveniently ignoring when Sea Hawk’s towel got lost somewhere. What started as comforting kisses became more impassioned, hands moved more frantically, and Mermista let herself revel, just for a little while, in the sheer _aliveness_ of Sea Hawk’s body.

Some time after, when they could both move again, Sea Hawk re-located the towel. “After all that, I’m not letting either of us sleep in a wet spot.”

Mermista laughed, but the reference to “all that” brought reality crashing back to her.

“It’s still not okay.”

“I know.” He was drawing her in close to him again, holding her back to his front.

“Everything will be awful again tomorrow.”

“Perhaps.” He used the hand that wasn’t trapped under her to brush at a stray lock of her hair on her face.

“I’m going to eat at least three more tubs of ice cream. Before lunch.”

“An impressive feat worthy of my dearest.” He kissed her neck.

“Thanks, Sea Hawk.”

“Anything for my princess.”


End file.
